Performance Measurement and Metrics

Purpose – The main aim of this paper is to report on an examination of the service quality of Dhaka University Library (DUL), a premier public university library in Bangladesh, from its users' viewpoint.

Design/methodology/approach – A survey was conducted among faculty, graduate and undergraduate students of DUL using a modified version of SERVQUAL. The gap differences between users' expected and perceived services were calculated. The concept of zone of tolerance was applied to see which items of service quality equal, exceed or fall short of user perception. The study analysed the desired service expectations of the users. Finally, the dimensions of service quality were determined through exploratory factor analysis.

Findings – The results of the study showed that DUL services are lagging far behind what is expected by its users. The result of the zone of tolerance showed that most of the items of service quality are not within the range of tolerance. A number of users' desired expectations for service quality are identified. The results obtained through exploratory factor analysis suggest that university library service quality consists of four dimensions – i.e. affect of service (organisational), collection and access, library as a place, and affect of service (personal) – which are different from SERVQUAL's original dimensions.

Originality/value – This is the first time an effort has been made to measure the service quality of a university library in Bangladesh. It is hoped that this study will trigger more research on assessing service quality in various university libraries in Bangladesh.